/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.22766738]

I cannot come up with material while sitting by my computer. I can only come up with and figure out material while walking outside. The moment I get inside all those ideas vanish in a couple of minutes so what I do is I jot down some notes on my phone and when I get home I rush to the computer and write for 5-15 minutes before all thoughts leave my body. Progress is extremely slow and scatter brained as a result. I'm working on a story and it's way too long to be written this way. It'll take years at this rate and I can't seem to be able force myself to work on a specific section. It'll come to me when it comes and it'll come in small bits. I'm writing sometimes paragraphs at a time. Is there a more effective way to force yourself to get in to the correct mood?
How do you ensure you don't lose the inspiration? Sometimes I sit down to write and halfway through a sentence I forget everything. I don't know if this is normal or if I'm just retarded. I'm trying but it's so frustrating to just stare at the screen and not be able to write anything and then the moment I step outside it all hits me. I was thinking of recording audio on my phone while walking. Maybe thinking out loud will help save my thoughts. I'll look like an insane person though.

[Anonymous No.22766870]

A lot of the imagery I come up with is when I’m half asleep. Turn off the lights, lower the curtains and just get into that half-asleep state and start imagining your story. Writing it without a schema or scaffolding is gonna be really hard anyway, especially if you aren’t making progress. Just lay down and imagine. You have to really grt into the details, think about the little things most wouldn’t. That’s where you’ll find something worth telling. If you can’t do that, you’re fucked. I started doing it because I couldn’t sleep and would accidentally get into that state.

[Anonymous No.22767030]

Know that you aren't alone. I am experiencing the exact same thing right now down to the last detail. I'm really not sure what the solution is. I've heard of some famous and prolific novelists dictating their books while on a treadmill or something, but I don't think this is feasible for me and I assume you feel the same. Beyond the word salad of our heads not being the same as writing in front of a computer, I'm not going to start talking to myself in prose as I walk about in public. I'm not sure what the solution is but hopefully other anons have experience with this.